Timothy Gallwey’s “Inner Game of Tennis” came out in 1974 and sparked a revolution in coaching and how athletes should approach improving their performance. Entrepreneurs can use several lessons to improve their personal performance and coach others.
The inner game is about self-mastery. And the path to self-mastery starts with humility because the humble are willing to observe and listen. As Wynton Marsalis observed: “the humble improve.” This is a tough challenge for any entrepreneur. You have to have the courage of your convictions in starting a new business, but you have to be alert to what you can learn by observing and listening to prospects, customers, partners, competitors, employees, and others.
The Usual Way of Learning:
+ Criticize or Judge Past Behavior
+ Tell Yourself to Change, Instructing with Word Commands Repeatedly
+ Try Hard; Make Yourself Do It Right
+ Critical Judgment about Results Leading to Repetition of Process
The Inner Came Way of Learning
+ Observe Existing Behavior
+ Ask Yourself to Change, Programming with Image and Feel. No commands are used.
+ Let it Happen!
+ Nonjudgmental, Calm Observation of the Results: Leading to Continuing Observation of Process until Behavior Is Automatic.
It was a business decision driven by Tom Watson Jr. after listening to a lot of customer feedback. See "Father, Son, and Co." https://www.amazon.com/Father-Son-Co-Life-Beyond/dp/05533808... his autobiography of his years at IBM, and beyond. The 360 project figures prominently.
For "search engine" tasks I have switched to Kagi.com and find it more useful than Google's results. I am not using it for shopping but to find original content that offers multiple perspectives on topics I am researching. I find Perplexity helpful when I am trying to get a basic overview because it provides links to substantiate the content. Your mileage may vary.
Written by James Heathers of Linneaus Univ. Released February 14, 2025
Abstract: ‘Forensic metascience’ involves using digital tools, statistical observations or human faculties to assess the consistency of empirical features within scientific statements. Usually, those statements are contained within formal scientific papers.
A forensic metascientific analysis of a paper is the presentation of one or more observations made about features within that paper. These can be numerical, visual, or textual / semantic features.
Forensic metascientific analysis is designed to modify trust by evaluating research consistency. It is not designed to ‘find fraud’. While this may happen, it is not the sole focus of forensic metascience as a research area and practice, it is simply the loudest consequence.
Intelligence Amplification/Augmentation not Artificial Intelligence (IA not AI)
Human Touch at Scale: Enable Customer Intimacy not an Instrumentality
Tap Expertise Like Electricity: Rely on Recon Pull Over Centralized Command
Focus on Learning and Teaching: View Customer Requests as Opportunities Not Costs
Play a Long Game: Focus on Longer Term Possibilities Over Short Term Gains
Play a Fast Game: Act on Good Enough Now Don’t Wait for Perfection or Certainty
Embrace the Possibility of Failure to Prevent it, the Reality of Failure to Learn from It
Act Entrepreneurially and Foster Ecosystems to Create More Value Than You Capture
these are paragraph 14 and 15 of 16; I think this is called "burying the lede."
I was surprised to see that Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz, who has historically shied away from openly criticizing the company that made him a billionaire, endorses the book. Brooke Oberwetter, a former Facebook policy manager whose time at the company overlapped with the period Wynn-Williams writes about, also recommends it.
“I can’t fact check the whole book (and neither can anyone else), but I can say that the meetings and events I was a part of that are recounted in the book (and things that were relayed to me by others contemporaneously) are accurately represented,” she writes on LinkedIn. “Maybe more importantly, the vibe she captured is spot on. It was just all so juvenile.”
In many companies the director-level promotion requires agreement from other directors in other departments. Not every director in the company but directors from other groups or organizations you will interact with. It's different from the promotion to manager or senior manager which normally only involves review by managers or directors within one silo.
The jump to director is by no means driven just by experience or tenure and may require skills or expertise you have not demonstrated. It may be time to have a career conversation with your VP.
There are also in-person Bootstrapper Breakfast meetings in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley.
These events are for “entrepreneurs who eat problems for breakfast.”®
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